


Mama Said That it Was Okay

by StandinShadow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Basically a series of ficlets about Keith and Krolia, Canon-Typical Violence, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Son Relationship, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-07 08:23:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14076840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StandinShadow/pseuds/StandinShadow
Summary: A series of fics about Keith and Krolia, exploring their relationship as mother and son both in canon and in AU's. Each chapter will be its own story, so the notes at the top will contain any necessary warnings!Please feel free to leave prompts in the comments for any fic you'd want to see about Keith and Krolia - I'm pretty open to anything!





	1. Has the Moment Passed? Has It Passed?

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is for JustmyLuck13, who requested the following prompt:
> 
> As for a fic, I would love to have something where Keith is kind of resentful of Krolia. She left and maybe he has a hard time getting past that, his life wasn’t the greatest bc of that. Maybe theres a lot piling up and he just can’t deal with this reveal on top of it. He’s made it this far on his own, he doesn’t owe her anything. And maybe the other paladins getting to bond with her first and not really truly getting what his hang up is, he has his mom back! He should be excited for this second chance (besides none of them have their parents, don’t be ungrateful).   
> I just think the inevitable emotional blow out would be a great wound lancing Keith. A little closure to finally vent.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the fill!
> 
> Warning for ChristineBH: While Keith and Krolia that the ending is optimistic, though I don't think the fic itself presents any issues otherwise.

If someone had asked Keith if he wanted to meet his mother a week ago, Keith would have said yes. He has so many questions, so many dreams (and nightmares) for how that meeting went and he’s spent his entire life waiting for one of them to happen. Then it did and well, Keith wishes it hadn’t. Krolia is trying, Keith knows that. She hasn’t let him go on a mission, even one like this which was just getting a flash drive from another Blade base, alone since she found him.

  The thing is, Keith _wants_ space, wants her to leave him alone. He’s not some kid who needs his mom guiding him. if that’s what Krolia wanted … well, then she shouldn’t have left 15 years ago or she should’ve taken him with. Keith’s an adult now and he doesn’t need a mom and finding out he was half alien kind of covered any questions he had for her. Keith feels bad, especially when Krolia smiles at him hopefully every few hours, but he’s annoyed to. It’s not _his_ fault that she missed her window to be his mom.

  “So you’re 18, right? That would mean, if we were on earth you’d be in school still?” Krolia asks as she looks over at him, frowning slightly as she furrows her brow a bit, as though trying to do the math. Keith blinks a little, feeling the heat that had been slowly dying ever since he left Voltron rekindle. She was supposed to be his mom and she couldn’t even remember how old he was? Keith knows it’s been fifteen years, but he figured abandoning him would’ve stuck out. God knows it did for him.

  “I mean, it would be the end of my senior … I’d be an adult, pretty much,” Keith cuts himself off, because he’d been living on his own for a year before he even went to space. He’s no student, he never has been really. Keith’s been taking care of himself for years. He knows how to do pretty much everything by himself. Keith doesn’t need her.

  “Oh, right. Your height threw me off, I guess,” Krolia tells him with a weak smile as she stands behind him on the ship, her arms folded over her chest. She gives him another quick once over, as though looking for … well, Keith has no idea what she’s looking for. A sign of his father besides Keith not being purple? Proof he’s actually still a child so she doesn’t have to feel as bad about abandoning him? A hidden weapon Keith’s concealing? Finally, Krolia seems to find it, shaking her head and frowning tightly as she reaches a hand out toward him, gaze dropping when Keith pulls away. “I’m surprised Kolivan sent you on a mission by yourself. By Blade standards you’d still be in training at 18.”

  “Well, as you can see, I didn’t turn out Galra enough for that to be an issue,” Keith snaps, voice rising defensively as he takes a step away from Krolia. This had been his first solo mission, and some of the other blades sarcastically called him a ‘bladet’ or a ‘cadet’ but that’s just because he’s half their size. He’s not some dumb kid who needs another Blade babysitting him every mission. He was a paladin for Voltron, for god’s sake! Keith knows how to handle a mission and what he needs to do for it. Hell, Keith knows that better than Krolia, who risked who knows how many lives because she wanted bonding time with _him_.

  “Right, you took after your father, that’s a good thing,” Krolia tells him warmly, though she doesn’t try and fill the space between them. Keith’s glad for small miracles for once. He walks across the deck, sliding back into the pilot’s seat even though the plane is on autopilot. Keith needs to focus on something besides the woman behind him.

  “Wouldn’t know. He died when I was 7,” Keith tells her as coldly as he can anyway, because he needs to have the last word at least once. Keith hates that some emotion still bleeds into his voice, a crack he can’t quite stop. Krolia gasps, short and soft, sorrow and regret mixing in a whispered ‘I’m sorry’ Keith pretends not to hear. it’s 11 years too late for it to matter.

  Keith marches straight to headquarters after the mission, ready to hand the flash drive over to Kolivan and get some rest. The past few days have been stressful emotionally and physically, and Keith can feel himself fraying at the edges. That never ends well for him, and he has the feeling a meltdown is going to be a lot less popular here than it was at the Castle. Kolivan looks over at them, frowning as Keith holds out the flash drive. Keith has the feeling rest isn’t in his future after all.

  “We need you to visit the paladins of Voltron on behalf of the coalition,” Kolivan tells them as he takes the flash drive from Keith, not giving them time to catch their bearings or asking about the mission. Keith’s eyes widen, mouth opening slightly, a strange mix of emotions rushing through him. on one hand, Keith misses the other paladins and Coran, wants to see them and hear about what they’ve been doing and how, wants to talk to Matt when he’s not five seconds away from near death. But … Keith isn’t part of the team anymore, and he was always the loner. He’s not sure how much they’ll want to see him now that they’ve gotten to experience being a team without him as dead weight.

  “Since when do we do things on behalf of the coalition?” Keith asks, raising an eyebrow as he looks over at Kolivan, frowning tightly as he considers his words. Because even outside of his own feelings, what Kolivan is asking of him doesn’t make sense. They’ve never been the first choice for diplomatic reasons, and Kolivan hadn’t mentioned any kind of mission. It makes no sense he’d want Keith to go on a vacation when the coalition is in the middle of taking down bases. It’s a waste of resources.

  “Since Voltron decided the rest of us were on a need to know basis,” Kolivan answers coldly, expression tightening as he looks over at Keith. Krolia raises an eyebrow as she looks between them, frown tightening. Keith wonders why she’s still here as swallows. He knows that had to be a miscommunication on Shiro’s part. He wouldn’t have risked that much on a whim, he’s not like Keith. “Keith, you are the Blade who knows the other members of the team best. If someone can get through to them -”

  Keith crosses his arms, spreading his stance out a bit as his gaze slides between Krolia and Kolivan. Krolia looks even more surprised, eyebrows shooting up toward her forehead as though she hadn’t expected him to get mad. But then, Krolia doesn’t know anything about him, so Keith shouldn’t be surprised. Kolivan’s frown tightens even as he nods for Keith to speak. “I’m not spying on my friends!”

  “Not spying, you and Krolia will simply be observing them and discussing our concerns about their recent lack of transparency,” Kolivan tells them in an emotionless voice, even as Keith feels like he’s been slapped in the face. Not only is Kolivan sending him to spy on his friends, he’s sending him with a babysitter? Like Keith can’t handle talking to his friends by himself?

  “Wait, both of us?” Krolia asks, voice rising a bit with surprise, her eyes widening as she looks over at Kolivan. Oh. So not only is Keith being forced to have a mom he doesn’t want to get to know on his trip ho – to the castle, she doesn’t even want to be there with him. things were really looking up for him since he joined the Blade.

  “Yes, it makes more sense for both of you to travel together, in case anything the conditions are direr than we fear,” Kolivan explains to them as though he’s not ruining Keith’s life for a mission that’s going to fail. The team isn’t keeping any secrets and guilting Shiro about a mistake he made three weeks ago isn’t going to help anything. All Kolivan’s doing is driving a wedge between Voltron and the Blade, and not a wedge they can afford. “Besides, this will allow you both time to bond with one another.”

  “Of course, Kolivan, when do we leave?” Krolia asks while Keith crosses his arms and looks away, not wanting either of them to see the look on his face. Keith knows he’s glowering like a little kid, but this is all just so unfair. Even if Kolivan doesn’t trust him to be objective, there are plenty of other blades who could go with him. this isn’t about Kolivan not trusting him. Krolia probably asked to go on this mission with him just like she has on the last three, because apparently, she can’t take a hint when Keith’s thrown it in her face every day since he met her. He doesn’t need her to be a part of his life.

  “The shuttle is waiting for you,” Kolivan answers them, a hint of sheepishness in his gaze as Keith’s stares at him, mouth opening slightly in shock and rage. He can’t even try to get assigned to a different mission then. Fine. Keith turns on his heel and storms out of the control room and back toward the hangar, pointedly ignoring the sound of Krolia’s boots on the metal behind him. Keith keeps waling, nodding over at a Blade who points at the closest storage ship. He doesn’t even get to pilot. Great.

  “Keith, tell me about your friends,” Krolia says as they sit down on the shuttle, her smile tighter now that Keith’s stormed down the hallway. Keith doesn’t want to tell her about them, or anything about his life. None of it is good, and Keith doesn’t need her pity on top of her attempts to bond with him. All he wants is for Krolia to leave him alone. Why doesn’t she get that?

  “They’re not – they’re good people. Loyal. They don’t abandon their own,” Keith tells her, voice cracking a bit on ‘loyal’. Keith misses that, misses having people he could trust, people who accepted him for who he was, even though they probably shouldn’t have. And Keith threw that all away, for what? For the Blade who all think he’s an overly emotional idiot who can’t figure out what matters? For Kolivan’s distant annoyance? For a mother it turns out he actually doesn’t want to get to know? Keith sacrificed the closest thing he had to a family, and for what?

  But no. Keith closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, because he left for Shiro and for the team. He wasn’t a good leader or paladin. Things are better now, even if they’re not better for him.

  “Right,” Krolia mutters, voice so low Keith almost doesn’t hear her as she turns her gaze to the wall. Keith can hear the guilt in her voice, the hurt, and he crosses his arms tighter against the chest and stares out the window. Keith isn’t going to feel bad, he didn’t do anything wrong here. It’s not his fault Krolia chose the mission over him. he doesn’t even blame her for that, so why should he be responsible for the fact she blames herself?

* * *

  “So, your Keith’s mom? I mean, that makes sense, you guys look a lot alike,” Lance tells her as he gives the woman in front of him a once over, trying to pretend that this whole situation isn’t awkward. She and Keith had gotten there maybe ten minutes ago, and Keith had already left her alone without so much as a goodbye. Hell, he’d barely even talked to any of them when he got off the shuttle, instead increasing the distance between him and his mom as much as possible. That was weird too. They basically only see Keith maybe once every two weeks, and then he comes with a mom he almost immediately abandons to go train. And with _Coran_.

  Lance doesn’t know what to make of it. Keith had seemed uncomfortable around her, angry and awkward, and Lance can’t help wondering why. Nothing in her face, in her kind smile or fluffy ears, gives anything away though, except that Keith is practically her clone.

  “It’s true,” Krolia tells him with a small laugh, one hand brushing against her cheek. So, she’s noticed too. Krolia’s laugh fades as she gives him a considering look, eyebrows scrunching together as she concentrates on his face. Lance guesses he deserves that. “So, you’re Lance, right? The one who replaced Keith as the Red Paladin?”

  “I wouldn’t say replaced – it’s complicated, but Keith didn’t leave the team because – it wasn’t because I was – he was good enough and no one wanted him gone,” Lance rambles, not able to stop from himself as he throws his hands out. He doesn’t want Krolia to hate him or to cause issues with the Blade, and the idea of him replacing Keith makes a strange mixture of guilt and sadness bubble deep in his gut. Keith is his friend, Lance never wanted to take his place or for Keith to leave. That’s just how things worked out. That’s how Keith made things work out.

  “No, from what little he’s told me, I didn’t think that was the case,” Krolia assures him with a small smile, lips edging toward a familiar smirk. Lance blinks a bit and then nods, giving her a weak smile as he takes in her words. So Keith trusted her enough to tell her what happened when he left the team. Maybe things between them aren’t as dire as Lance thought after all. It would be hard to think they could be, with them being so much alike. “He also told me that you’re a very good shot. So am I, I was wondering if you’d like to have a little … competition?”

  “Competition? Like to see who’s the better shot?” Lance asks as he raises an eyebrow, smirking a bit as he pats his bayard. Krolia nods as she leans toward him, something playful flashing in her eyes for a second, something challenging and – oh shit. She’s a trained space spy/assassin and Lance never even finished all of his target classes at the Garrison, even if he was the best student there. She’ll probably think he’s ridiculous for even trying. “Because I feel like you might have a few years of experience on me – no offense!”

  “None taken, you’re very young, even for a human, I meant more for fun. Though just so you know, I have two guns,” Krolia says with a small laugh, grinning over at him with an open expression. The challenge is gone, expression softer now in a way that reminds Lance of his own mom a bit. His smile grows a little more real as he turns to head toward the training deck, nodding for Krolia to follow him. he thinks this competition will actually be fun.

* * *

 “Yellow Paladin, I see you’re working on equations, are you the ship mechanic?” Keith’s mom calls from across the lab space, raising one eyebrow as she looks over all his equipment. Hunk nearly drops his screwdriver right into his hand-held computer, only catching it at the last moment. Of all the people he expected to see in here, Keith’s mom was pretty much on the end of his list. He figured she was probably like Keith, curious but also … less knowledgeable about science than some of them here, and well. Hunk kind of figured she’d want to spend most of her time with Keith.

  They only reunited two weeks ago from what Hunk heard. But then Keith’s been in a bad mood ever since he got to the castle, glaring every time Krolia tries to talk to him. Hunk might want a break too under those circumstances.

  “One of them, along with Matt and Pidge Holt,” Hunk explains to her with a slight grin, waving awkwardly with one hand. He might as well as give her someone to talk to if Keith isn’t going to. She’s here to help them with … actually, Hunk isn’t sure about that either. Huh. There’s a lot of questions here he hadn’t considered. Maybe that’s why Keith is being so distant again, though that wouldn’t explain why he’s so mad at his mom. “You can call me Hunk, if you want, … Mrs. Song?”

  “Krolia works,” she tells him with a quick nod, leaning as she gazes intently at the piece of equipment he’s holding. Hunk smiles as she pokes the front of it, her eyes widening as the armor underneath vanishes. Hunk preens a little, running a hand through his hair, because he has to admit that this is some of his and Pidge’s best work. “Is that a new type of cloaking device?”

  “It’s an add on to the one Pidge made for the Lions, so it can transfer the cloaking to our armor,” Hunk explains to her as he holds up the small pad, wondering if he should go into more detail. After all, Krolia probably doesn’t even know the lions have a cloaking device. That’s not the first thing Keith would tell her about, and given that Keith is ignoring her completely, Hunk can’t imagine they’ve had many conversations. Krolia gives her a small smile, nodding encouragingly. “How much do you know about nanotech?”

  “Nothing, if I’m honest, science was never my thing,” Krolia admits with a small sigh, shaking her minutely as she glances down at the two blasters at her waist. Hunk lets out a small chortle, though when Krolia gives him a shocked look he hides it with his hand as quickly as possible. Krolia just smirks though, shaking her head a bit as she hands the cloaking device back to him. “Could you explain it to me? It sounds very useful.”

  “Yeah, of course,” Hunk tells her with a bright smile as he lays out the equipment in front of her. People don’t ask him to very often, outside of Keith, and even that was usually only on a need to know basis. Keith might not want to have anything to do with his mom right now, but Hunk has to admit as he holds up his wrench to her smiling face, he thinks she’s pretty damn cool.

* * *

  “Hey, Krolia, Hunk was telling me that you were interested in the cloaking devices were making,” Pidge calls as she walks toward the other woman, awkwardly waving at her. Hunk swears to her that Krolia is really cool and a great listener, and that Pidge needs to talk science with (well, at) her. Pidge is … less sure, because as far as she can tell Keith doesn’t want to be anywhere near her. And Pidge’s capacity for social interaction has always been a lot closer to Keith’s than Lance’s or Hunk’s. “If you want I could make some for the Blade too, or at least you and Keith, since he could probably use one.”

  “Hmm?” Krolia murmurs as she raises an eyebrow, expression completely blank otherwise. Pidge cocks her head to the side, not sure why she doesn’t seem to be following. Keith has never been quiet or good at hiding his feelings, and – this is Keith’s mom. That blankness might not be confusion, it might be anger. She does not want a member of the Blade mad at her. Pidge always did have a knack for pissing off adults when she didn’t mean to, because apparently sometimes being blunt was being rude.

  “I mean -don’t get me wrong, Keith is a great fighter and friend and all that, stealth was just never his thing here,” Pidge tells her with a slightly sheepish grin, because okay, she kind of sees how that could’ve been rude without context. Keith has been training with the Blade, he’s probably different. He’s probably nothing like the guy Pidge became friends with anymore. It’s only been two months, not even, but people can change a lot in that amount of time. Look at Shiro or her finding her dad or Lance having a sword now, or Allura being some kind of super witch. And none of that is even getting into Lotor. “I guess that probably changed, since he’s a Blade now.”

  “Not entirely, but you’re all young. When I was Keith’s age, I got caught on nearly all my missions,” Krolia tells her in a tight voice, glaring down at her own guns as though she’s ashamed. It reminds Pidge of how Keith used to look whenever Shiro was disappointed in him or he told them more than he meant to, and Pidge feels a twitch in her chest. She misses her friend. Then, as she shakes that feeling away – because Keith is right here – curiosity fills her, because wait, what?

  Pidge blinks owlishly, opening her mouth a little before she can stop herself. “Really?”

  “Of course, no one starts out as the best soldier, though I have to admit that all of you kids are doing a lot better than I was at your age,” Krolia assures her with a quick shrug, as though that were just common sense. Krolia nods a bit, still intrigued though, because well, Krolia is a high-level spy who was undercover for over a decade. It’s hard to imagine her being anything like them. “Though, at your age I was practically what Keith calls a toddler.”

  “Wait, what? Keith could’ve been a toddler if he’d been more Galra? What else is different?” Pidge asks before she can stop herself, leaning forward until she’s only inches from Krolia. She forgets about worrying about being rude or how much time she wants to spend with people, because she’s been trying to find out more information about the Galra for months. She’s not going to meet her chance.

  It’s only after Krolia leaves, Pidge’s insatiable curiosity filled for now, that she considers that those years undercover might be why Keith doesn’t want to be around her.

* * *

 

  “Keith! I thought you’d be spending more time in the sitting room during your visit here, I know you were always a bit of a loner, but we’ve all missed you,” Coran calls suddenly as the door to Keith’s (old) room flies open, gazing at the floor with a slight squint as though he’s looking for the mice. Right, that makes sense. Keith can’t imagine anyone would come looking for him, with how he’s been acting the past few days. Keith hadn’t planned on avoiding all of the other paladins, but Krolia is always there whenever he walks into a room and Keith’s getting the sinking feeling that the team likes her more than they like him. Keith wants to think that’s his insecurity talking but … how could he ever know?

  “I’m not avoiding you or the team, Coran,” Keith tells him in a tight voice, words coming out before he can stop himself. Coran raises an eyebrow, running a hand over his mustache as he walks over to Keith’s bed. Keith looks up at him, blinking when Coran sits down next to him instead of walking away like most people would.

  “So, you’re avoiding your mother,” Coran answers as he holds up his pointer finger, voice far too cheerful for what he’s saying. Keith winces slightly, biting his lip because when Coran puts it like that, it sounds pretty childish. But Keith spent 15 years without his mom with no reason why besides ‘she had to do something important’, no clues besides a knife that made everyone around of him afraid of him by third grade. Coran’s expression softens, voice still cheerful but with a hint of something Keith doesn’t understand underneath it. “Right! Did you two have a fight? Did she ‘ground’ you?”

  “No! I’m an adult, she can’t do anything for me!” Keith snaps before he can stop himself, crossing his arms tightly against his chest. And that’s the problem, isn’t it? Keith’s too old for a mom, they missed their window and it feels like it’s his fault even though he knows that’s not true. But maybe if he’d found the Blue Lion faster or if he hadn’t turned out to be such a problem child or just – if he’d just been _better_ , he could’ve had a mom. But he isn't and she left before he even could be anyway.  

  “I think I see what the problem is,” Coran says with a quick nod, peering over at Keith thoughtfully. Keith raises an eyebrow, because he’s pretty sure Coran has no idea. Coran pats his shoulder suddenly, smiling as he stands up and points toward the door. “You know, she’s on a routine check with Shiro for the next few hours if you wanted to visit the others on the deck.”

  “Fine,” Keith grumbles and he can hear the whine in his own voice and winces a little. He’s not some dumb little kid, he knows Coran is right, that the only way to get any answers here is to talk to the others. That just happens to be Keith’s least favorite thing. Coran doesn’t respond to the whine or the way Keith has his arms glued to his chest, he just leads him to the sitting room, where Lance and Hunk are playing cards and Pidge is playing referee. Keith has to admit the smiles on their faces when they first see him feel pretty damn good. “Thanks Coran.”

  Coran gives him another wise grin, nodding slightly before he disappears behind the door. Keith swallows, because he was hoping Coran would stick around.

  “Keith, where have you been? You’ve been back for three days and you’ve barely spent any time with us,” Hunk says without preamble as he comes over to his side, smile gentle even as there’s something heavy in his gaze. Keith shakes his head, opening and closing his mouth before he shrugs helplessly and gives them all an apologetic look. He never wanted to ignore any of them. “And you’ve spent even less with your mom, even though she’s awesome and wants to get to know you -”

  “Well maybe I don’t want to get to know her, Hunk!” Keith cries, voice coming out too loud, too angry, and Keith’s messed up again. Except Hunk doesn’t back away, even as the hand that was coming toward his shoulder stills in the air. Pidge gives him a weak nod, coming over to his side and looking protective in a way Keith doesn’t get, because he’s supposed to look at her like that, not the other way around.

  “Why not? Keith, you’ve spent your whole life not knowing who your mom was and now you’re the only one besides Pidgey here who has family with them,” Lance points out, voice a little rough as he glares over at Keith. Keith can see the images floating across Lance’s eyes, the nieces and nephews and siblings and parents Lance always had there, helping him to grow into a good person, a strong person. Keith wishes they could switch, that Lance could have his family here and Keith could be alone again. Things made more sense then. “I’d kill to have my mom or brothers and sister here.”

  “Who taught you how to ride a bike? Or to read? Or even just how to walk? Who read you to sleep and made you cookies and taught you how to check for scorpions in your boot?” Keith asks, words spilling out too fast for him to stop them. Pidge nods to every word, gaze surprisingly knowing, even though Pidge of all people should be the one who’s mad at him. Hunk looks away, gaze growing heavier as he shakes his head softly. Lance never takes his eyes off of him. “Right, for me, all of those things were my dad and he’s dead. Krolia isn’t my mom. It’s too late for that, she wasn’t there for me when I was a kid and now it’s just. Too late, okay?”

  “It doesn’t have to be,” Lance says quietly after a moment, shaking his head a bit as he comes to stand by Keith. Keith raises an eyebrow, opening his mouth, probably to say something he’ll regret. But then Lance slides a comforting, warm hand to his shoulder, and Keith’s mouth falls shut. “Look, I get it. We get it. I know it might not seem like we do, and okay, so we probably don’t entirely on the Krolia front. But Keith, even if … even if you never think of her as a mom, you have a chance to get know her and to let her bond with you. You might not need her for those things, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be there for you or be something to you.”  

  “And if she isn’t, you still have a family here,” Pidge throws out quietly, though the gaze she gives Keith is intense, warm and determined as she bumps his shoulder with her own. Hunk comes up on the other side, smiling softly as he nods, gaze almost sheepish as he grabs Keith’s other shoulder.

  “Thanks, you guys,” Keith says softly, giving them all a watery smile as he stretches his arms out into something that’s kind of like a hug. Lance snorts and pulls them all into a more genuine one, and Keith can’t stop himself from laughing a little. He’s missed this, missed them. Keith hopes, maybe even if he can’t come back to Voltron ever, he can come back to the team someday.

  But for right now, Keith breaks the hug with a whispered ‘thank you’, making his way down the hallway to the guest room Krolia is in, hesitating before he knocks on the door. If Keith is going to move forward at all, as a Blade or a Paladin, he needs to get past this first.

  “Hey ... mo- Kro – Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you,” Keith mutters as he walks through the door and comes over to her side, giving her a half-smile that could be mistaken for a grimace. Krolia looks shocked, probably both that Keith as actually sought her out first and at his expression, nodding softly as she pats the space on the bed next to him. Keith glances down at it and then shakes his head, because no, he wants to be standing for this. That will help him control his emotions. Maybe.

  “Of course, Keith, what’s going on?” Krolia asks softly, cocking her head a bit as she glances up at him, though then she rolls to her feet and Keith has to cock his head up to meet her gaze. Keith bites his lip, wringing his hands out for a second while he tries to figure out what to say. Keith doesn’t want to hurt her, but … Keith isn’t sure avoiding her isn’t doing that too. Maybe things will be better without any Band-Aids.

  “I don’t need a mom, not in the way I would’ve if you hadn’t left and even though I know you were doing it for the mission, I … a part of me is still mad at you,” Keith tells her in a tight voice, trying to keep both the anger and tears at bay. Keith knows he’s not really managing, his voice sounding watery to his own ears as he keeps his eyes locked to the floor. He knows if he looks at her face, sees either the guilt and regret or the indifference, he’ll break. Keith needs, he needs to get this out.

  “Keith, it wasn’t just for the mission, I was trying to protect you,” Krolia practically whispers, and Keith can hear the crack in her voice, the regret. He can’t help looking up at her, finding that the same tears pricking at his eyes are pricking at hers too. Keith blinks, once, twice, but the tears start sliding down his face anyway. So much for keeping it together. Krolia’s voice is soft when she speaks again. “But I know now, what I did was a mistake.”

  “Yeah,” Keith mumbles after a beat, because he’s not sure what else he can do here. It was a mistake, one that made Keith who he is, that made all of his thorns. But Keith doesn’t want to blame her for that, or at least he wants to get to a place where he doesn’t. Keith can’t see a future past that right now, their fledging relationship too new, too distant. But maybe, someday, he’d laugh with her like he just did with his friends. Maybe that could be enough. “But even if I am still mad, I want to get to know you. I need to know where I come from and why you left and just, I don’t know what you can be to me yet or whatever, but I don’t want you out of my life.”

  Krolia nods softly, meeting his gaze with a tired but understanding one of her own as she reaches a hand out, and this time Keith doesn’t back away when she rests it on his shoulder. It’s a start. “Thank you, Keith.”


	2. The Red Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For @Dragonshifter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Dragonshifter for the prompt: 
> 
> Maybe an AU where Keith is actually raised by Krolia instead of being left by her? Except, the fanfic shows him as a teenager (because you’ve already done baby Keith)

  Krolia knows the day when she met the paladins of Voltron would come. She just didn’t expect it to be two weeks after their leader went missing. Or with Keith coming along as well. He only just started going on missions a few months ago, and usually with her or Kolivan, as he and the other cadets will for the next three years. But usually those missions are quick and safe, not anywhere near the dangers Voltron brings with it. And Voltron brings … unique dangers for Keith, so curious about the side of his family he never got to meet, all because he was born with his mother’s purple stripes on one side and not much else to indicate he was Galra. But that was still too much to let him stay on earth.

  “Keith, are you sure you want to go on this mission? It could be dangerous, the paladins have appeared to have abandoned Voltron,” Krolia asks for what she knows is not the first time, glancing over at her son as she bites her lip a little. She doesn’t want to be one of those overbearing mothers she used to hear cadets complain about, clinging to their children when they were sent off on missions. Keith has gone off by himself before even, but only on short-term missions with little danger. He can’t do spy work like the rest of them, looks almost completely human outside of the purple stripes down his right side, matching hers.

  More to the point, Krolia is afraid to let Keith meet the paladins of Voltron. Krolia knows she’s being selfish and silly, but she also knows that Keith is curious about them. she’s seen the searches on his telepad and the magazines scattered across his room. Krolia can’t blame him; they’re the first humans Keith has ever met, the first time he’s seen people who look like him or who know about his father’s world.

  “If that’s the case, then they need us more than ever,” Keith points out tightly, not meeting her gaze as he pulls his hood up. And of course, Keith is right. No matter her worries, Voltron and the universe needs their help. That always has to come first. Then Keith gives her a small, awkward smile as he climbs onto the back of the ship. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind meeting them myself, if we’re gonna work with them.”

  “I guess so,” Krolia answers with a low sigh, because she doesn’t think she’s going to be able to talk him out of this after all. She fears them getting hurt as much as she fears losing her son these paladins. But Keith deserves to meet them, deserves to learn where he’s from, even if a part of Krolia fears losing her son to the planet she’d come to love all those years ago. Krolia returns his smile with a warm one of her own, patting him on the shoulder as he slides into the pilot seat. “They’re your age, you know. Young.”

  “That worry you?” Keith asks as he raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms against his chest as he stares over at Krolia. Krolia blinks a bit, scrunching her eyebrows together as she wonders what gave her away.

  “A bit, the young can be impulsive, reckless,” Krolia tells him in a pointed voice, gaze like steel as she meets her son’s gaze. part of why she worries about taking Keith on missions, why she wishes he was a bit more talented on computers than planes, is that he’s too full of life, too quick to act and to sacrifice himself. Keith though, gives her a pointed look, raising one eyebrow as he starts to smirk. Sometimes he was too smart for his own good. “Don’t make that face at your mother, Keith, I know you’re thinking that could be me. But I don’t risk my life unnecessarily. Not since you. I worry about the paladins, especially without their leader.”

  Keith raises an eyebrow at her words, biting his lip as he stares over at her and seems to think over what she just said. It would be devastating for the Blade if they lost Kolivan, and Voltron is a much smaller group than them. Krolia watches as Keith swallows deeply, wincing a bit as he twists one of the knobs on the panel. “What happened to him?”

  “No one knows,” Krolia tells him a tight voice as she watches space roll by them, wondering what kind of danger they’re getting themselves into with every passing varga. Voltron hadn’t been specific, beyond something to do with a monster and aliens who needed to be protected, which wasn’t as much information as Krolia would’ve liked. She doesn’t like going into situations blind if she doesn’t have to.

  “Well, that sounds bad,” Keith mutters as he shakes his head without looking back at her, and Krolia doesn’t need to see his face to know all the questions that must be flickering across his mind right now. All of them have gone through hers too. Eventually she glances down at Keith, who is squeezing the handles just a hair tighter than he was before. His gaze narrows as he stares off into space. His voice has a slight crack when he next speaks. “You think he was taken? By the empire?”

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense, with how long he’s been missing,” Krolia admits as she comes to stand by his side, meeting her son’s gaze with a tight one of her own. Keith swallows a bit, and she knows he’s imagining the prisons, the gladiator fights, the experimentation that could be happening. Everything about the inner circle of the Empire is foreboding and mysterious, and what little they do know is bad enough. Krolia has the feeling they’ll be learning a lot more soon. “Kolivan doesn’t have any answers yet, though.”

  “Wait, what? The paladins are just lying to us?” Keith snaps, the plane moving smoothly even as he starts to tense up. He’s glaring heatedly out at space, as though trying to burn a hole through the ship. Krolia bites back a laugh, knowing that look all too well. Her son’s always been a righteous kid.

  “Not lying, I think they just don’t know any more than we do,” Krolia answers him in a low voice, gaze softening as she considers how afraid they must all be. They’re young, barely adults if that (she’s never fully understood human aging), and they’ve had to witness so much loss already. Krolia knows that’s true for every Blade, but they keep their cadets protected, as much as they can. She knows that the universe has not afforded these new paladins the same care, the same easing into war (if it could ever be called that) they do.

  Keith looks up at her in surprise, eyes widening as he waits for her to get mad at them, or to lecture him, or any of the million things the Blade have taught him since childhood. When she stays silent, he blinks owlishly, voice coming out unsure. “But the more time that passes without them finding the Black paladin -”

  “Trust me, I’m aware, but facing loss is hard,” Krolia reminds him as she squeezes his shoulder, and Keith winces, gaze falling as he bites his lip. They both remember how hard it was on Keith when Thace died. Besides her, he’d been Keith’s main mentor and teacher, and her cousin as well. He was the only other family they both had, and now he is gone. Keith swallows and blinks a few more time and then nods. The rest of the mission is handled silently.

* * *

  “You’re the paladins of Voltron?” Keith calls over to the young man in red armor when their fight on is done. The paladin looks over at him, his short brown hair falling across his forehead in almost curls as he cocks his head. The boy nods, peering over at him curiously and Keith crosses his arms and looks away, because he knows he doesn’t look like – but wait. No, he doesn’t look like most of the other Blade, but he does look a lot like the paladins. He needs to know more about that, about earth. Now is his chance! Keith takes a step forward, meeting the boy’s gaze. “Why do you look like me?”

  “I feel like the bigger question here is why one of the Blade of Marmora looks like us,” The Red One – Lance – points out as he raises an eyebrow at Keith pointedly. Keith bites his lip because right, it is probably weirder that he’s a Blade who barely looks like one, the purple marks on his right side the only hint that he’s not Altean or something.

  “His father was human,” Krolia says before Keith can, giving them all a tight smile as she comes to stand next to him. Keith’s glad his mom is here, because conversation has never been his strong suit, but he wants to speak for himself too. He is 18 now and a full Blade, even if he is still technically a cadet. He needs to start standing up for himself instead of shyly hiding in corners. Keith just wishes that didn’t involve talking. “All of the paladins of Voltron are from Earth?”

  “All but me - wait, the Blade have already scouted on earth?” Allura asks as she raises an eyebrow, glancing between them with just a hint of suspicion. She places one hand on her hip as her gaze rests on Keith for a moment, gaze narrowing a minute before she nods, satisfied in the sincerity of his confusion. Keith’s glad, he had no idea his mom was looking for part of Voltron when she went to earth. He shoots Krolia a quick, questioning look that she returns apologetically, biting her lip as she meets his gaze. He knows that look. They’ll talk later.

  “I was searching for the Blue Lion as part of my mission to keep the Galra Empire from recovering it instead, but I wasn’t as successful finding her as you were,” Krolia explains quickly, glancing between them as she tries to meet both Paladin’s gaze. Allura nods slowly, satisfied with the answer as she takes a step back, all traces of worry gone from her face. Lance nods and gives Blue a quick smile, something soft and warm coming over his face. Weird, Keith thought he piloted the Red Lion and that the paladins had to have a soul bond with their Lion or something. That’s what the Paladin Guidebook said. Not that Keith bought it. “And while I was there, I fell in love.”

  Krolia keeps talking as Lance leans in, looking interested and even Allura seems taken with his parents’ love story. Keith though, isn’t interested in hearing about how he was born for the 80th time. Not when there’s new ships to look at right in front of him. Keith takes a few steps towards the Red Lion, feeling a strange pull deep in his gut, eyes wide as the lion suddenly pulls up shields. The Blue one follows suit a moment later. Keith guesses they don’t like him, but he better make sure this doesn’t mean they’re in danger. “Why does the Red Lion have its shields up?”

  “What? Red, baby, what are you doing?” Lance cries as he starts moving toward the lion, only to smack right into the shield. Keith blinks a bit, poking at the shield only to stumble forward and then through it, almost tripping as he comes face to face with cold metal. Keith stares up at the Lion, a sense of awe coming over him. then he finds himself being pushed backward, stumbling as the Lion shoves him, hard. Keith’s going to feel that in the morning. “No, Red! That’s one of the Galra we like!”

  “Hey there, I’m not gonna hurt you or your paladin – that’s right, good kitty,” Keith murmurs as the lion finally stops pushing him around, making soft purring noises instead. Keith brushes his hand across her face, smirking as the Red Lion makes a low grumble. The sound is warm and familiar and – Keith lets out a sudden, raspy squeak as the Red Lion opens their mouth, Keith falling against the metal stairs and then finding himself being tossed into a pilot seat as the Lion closed their mouth, he sits up woozily, hands pressing down on a control panel that starts glowing under his hands. Keith feels like this is probably bad for Blade-Paladin relations.

  “Why did my Lion just swallow you?” Lance shouts, voice ringing across the intercom and making Keith wince a little as it reverberates against the metal. Then the sound stops just as quickly, Red purring soothingly as Keith runs a hand nervously over his Blade. What is going on?

  “I don’t know!” Keith cries as he runs his other hand over the glowing board in front of him, trying to find an escape switch. He needs to get out of here before the real Red Paladin gets even more upset. Red lets out a sudden roar though, and Keith finds himself flung back as she turns her heard toward the sky, only years of training keeping him from flying out of his seat. He’ll have to thank his mom later. Keith’s eyes widen, a sense of relief rushing through him. turns out he and mom didn’t need to worry earlier after all. “It’s the Black Lion! How do I talk to them with your comm?”

  “There is no reason to, the Black Lion is empty,” Allura calls in a low voice, and even though Keith has never met her before, even he can hear the disappointment. Keith watches as Black approaches her, Allura holding out one hand cautiously until the Lion opens up. For a moment, Keith feels like he’s seeing some kind of silent understanding, an almost religious moment, and then Allura enters the Black Lion. She doesn’t come out, the Lion instead darting into the air. The Red Lion still doesn’t let him out.

  “Where does that leave me?” Lance calls as he looks between the two lions, voice soft and defeated. Right, if the Red Lion wants to keep him, that means he’s … is he the Red Paladin now? Keith doesn’t 100% know how this works. Keith feels a swell of guilt well up in him, because he didn’t come here to take Lance’s Lion, his mission from him. Keith already has one of his own. Keith starts to run his hand over Red’s controls again to find a way out, when he’s thoughts are cut off by the roar of the Blue Lion, which is standing protectively in front of Lance. “Back together then? You sure, Blue? I haven’t flown you since we first got to space, but if that’s what you want, I have to admit I’ve missed you.”

  “Do we have to flirt with them?” Keith asks after a moment, scrunching his eyebrows together, earning a sharp rumble from Red and a burst of laughter from Lance. Keith scoffs a little and then smiles, because as unexpected as it was, being in the Red Lion feels right, like it was a part of him that was always missing.

  Then Keith sees his mom’s face from where she still is on the beach, tight and anxious, sad and a little resigned, and suddenly all those feelings hit him too. Being the Red Paladin means not being a part of the Blade.

* * *

  “What happens now?” Keith asks as he stands next to his her on the beach a few minutes after the Red Lion finally let him out, biting his lip as he kicks a shell with one foot. The other two paladins and the rest of the Blade are at the thank you party, though Krolia catches Lance and Allura spying on them every so often. She supposes she can’t blame them.

  Keith turns his gaze toward the ocean, biting his lip as he finds yet another shell to kick. Krolia snorts softly, watching as he keeps his gaze anywhere but on her. Keith never did like to make eye contact when he thought he was in trouble or when he was anxious, and she can’t blame him for feeling the second right now. Krolia feels like her own stomach is doing backflips.

  “You stay with the paladins and I explain to Kolivan what happened,” Krolia tells him firmly, though she knows Keith can see her gaze wavering a bit as he finally looks over at her. Keith’s eyes widen in surprise, mouth opening and then closing as he stares back at her. Krolia shakes her head a little, swallowing down the grief building in her stomach as she looks over at Keith. Krolia knows what the right answer here is, knows what it has to be, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t break her heart. “The universe needs Voltron more than it needs one more Blade of Marmora.”

  “But mom – I’ve been training to be a Blade my entire life,” Keith points out, and she can hear him trying to keep his own emotions at bay, though he’s never been good enough at that. There’s a watery quality to his voice, an anxiety she knows all too well. Sometimes it turns into anger, and then she and Keith go train for a bit or he’ll take a walk. Sometimes it’s overwhelming in other ways, and Keith goes and finds somewhere quiet to sit until he’s ready to talk to the rest of them. now he’ll have to figure out ways to do that with his new team and not with her or Regris. Krolia knows he’ll manage. Her son always does, he’s a fighter.

  “You have, but right now the mission needs you for something else, and I know you’ll rise to the occasion,” Krolia assures him as she leans forward and down so they’re eye to eye, one hand resting on his shoulder. Keith nods, though his gaze is still anxious as he swallows again, clenching and unclenching his hands. Krolia smiles at him, gaze soft as she pulls him into a hug. “If the Red Lion picked you to be its new Paladin, I’m sure it had a good reason.”

  “Right, I’ll keep in contact,” Keith tells her quickly as he hugs her back, and Krolia raises an eyebrow with a slight smirk. Like she ever would’ve let him not? Keith lets out a small chortle, though after a second his gaze grows heavy again. “Promise you will too, if you can?”

  Krolia nods tightly, because she knows the chances of her being sent on a spy mission are lower than they used to be, now that the Blade is a known entity, but they’re not impossible. If she is, she won’t be able to tell Keith where she is. He knows that. Keith lets out a small sigh as they break the hug, smile still shaky as he stares up at her. “Of course, and remember -”

  “No individual is more important than the mission,” Keith cuts her off before she can say anything, words quick and precise. He’s learned Kolivan’s lessons well over the years. Krolia just hopes that Keith’s learned hers too.

  “But the mission doesn’t matter without the individual,” Krolia adds in a warm voice, though her gaze is tight as she looks down at her son. She can’t afford to lose him, not after everything, not when he is her son. Krolia will do everything she can to protect Keith, will sacrifice anything, but she knows she can’t keep him from a destiny bigger than either of them and bigger than even the Blade itself. Keith has a duty now, has a mission, and he has to do it no matter how much it scares her. Krolia pulls him into another quick hug, ruffling his hair even as Keith rolls his eyes to try to hide the tears in them. “Now go be a hero.”

  She doesn’t let herself cry until she watches Keith fly off in the Red Lion, fear and pride equally heavy in her smile. Her son is going to be a hero, and there’s nothing scarier for a mother than that.


	3. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for coveredvoid for the prompt:
> 
> If your looking for prompts, what about something where Krolia and Keith are with the team? And the paladins notice he isn’t as happy with his mom as they’d expected? I think realistically Keith would be happy to have his mom back but her abandonment has effected him so much that he’s afraid of rejection (especially from her?). It’d be interesting if the team tried to get them closer.
> 
> Warning for ChristineBH for a happy Keith and Krolia relationship.

  Lance shows up in the hangar to meet Keith, smiling nervously as he sees the black and grey ship land slowly. Lance knows that, sooner or later, they’ll have to tell Keith the real reason they asked him to visit. Sure, meeting his mystery mom is a part of it – they’re Keith’s family, kind of, and they want to meet his other family – but it’s also about Shiro. Keith knows him better than anyone, so if Shiro is going to confide in someone about what’s going, it’s Keith. That and, if it is as bad as Lance fears, they’re going to need another paladin.

  Still, meeting Keith’s mom is almost as big of a deal and Lance can feel his nerves doubling as the plane’s doors slide open.

  “Keith! You’re back, or at least back for a bit,” Lance calls a little louder than necessary, waving one arm through the air excitedly as he walks toward his friend. Then Lance stops as he takes in the woman next to him, purple and over a foot taller than Keith, though with the same careful, serious gaze as she glances around the hangar. This must be the mysterious mother Keith mentioned on his last video call. And then there’s Keith, almost the same as when he left, except now he has a deep purple line on his right cheek. Huh. “And you must be Krolia, I see where Keith got his … new birthmark from. His very cool birthmark!”

  “Thanks Lance, and yeah this is Krolia, my … mom,” Keith murmurs in a low voice, fingers brushing against the new purple line on his cheek self-consciously. Lance winces a little, closing his eyes at his own words. He knows Keith is self-conscious, or at least was, about his Galra heritage. Keith might be even more so now that it’s literally painted across his face. Keith brings his hand down after a moment, slowly pulling his hood down so Lance can see the lines go down his neck.

  “It’s great to meet you, Lance, you’re the Red Paladin, right?” Krolia asks in a warm voice, though it’s a little too short by earth standards. It reminds Lance a little of Keith, actually. Krolia looks over at him, gaze thoughtful and curious, and oh right. She’s probably wondering who replaced her son.  

  “Yeah, I am,” Lance answers her with a tentative smile, glancing over at Keith out of the corner of his eye. Keith looks away, biting his lip as he kicks the ground softly, shame and embarrassment clear in his every motion. Lance takes a deep breath, pushing away the last shreds of his insecurity. Keith needs his support right now. He might not be his right-hand man anymore, but he still remembers how to be.  “Keith was too, before me, and I have to say he’s one of the most impressive pilots I’ve ever seen. Maybe the most impressive.”

  “Yes, I have noticed that my son has quite a mastery of different ships, and especially the fast ones,” Krolia tells him, voice colored with pride as a familiar glisten comes over her eyes. It reminds Lance of his mother, and Lance feels a familiar swell of longing in his chest. Keith though, doesn’t look as touched as Lance feels when his mom talks about him like that.

  “Thanks, Lance,” Keith mutters softly, giving him a weak smile for a moment before his gaze drops to the floor again. The shame seems even worse now, mixed with something else as Keith bites his lip, not meeting his mom’s gaze. Krolia lets out a small sound, shaking her head a bit as she brushes a hand on his shoulder. Keith stiffens for a second and Lance thinks he’s about to push her hand away, but then he doesn’t. Lance wonders if Keith is considering running again, just like he did when he didn’t think he was good enough for Black –

  Oh. Keith doesn’t think he’s good enough for Krolia’s pride. Lance gets that, even if it breaks his heart.

* * *

  “Hey, you two, do you want to come watch this soap opera with me? Keith, you know it, it’s the one with the space pirates and the evil queen,” Hunk says brightly as he watches Krolia and Keith walk into the room, raising one eyebrow knowingly as he catches Keith’s eye. It’s one of the few things they used to do together before Keith left for the Blade. Somehow Hunk doesn’t think that the Blade’s very into soaps, and especially not ones from 10,000 years ago. Keith stills, looking back and forth between Hunk and his mom with scrunched eyebrows, as though he’s not sure what to do. Weird. Keith’s never been indecisive before.

  “Oh yeah, I’ve missed that,” Keith admits as he comes over to lean across the back of the couch after a minute, gaze hitting the screen with a tight smile. Krolia follows him, leaning across the couch with her arms across against her chest. She looks curious, mouth in a small ‘o’ and suddenly Hunk can see where Keith gets it. Keith leans in even more as he catches the sight of the familiar ship, Tyrerra waving her sword in the air as she stands on the bow. “Did I miss anything important?”

  “Aoliok and Tyrerra broke up because she found out about his past with the Nurian Army,” Hunk explains as he shakes his head, closing his eyes as though to block out the memories. Keith lets out a small, almost whistle like noise of surprise. “She’s pretty upset.”

  “Of course she is,” Keith mutters hotly, shaking his head so his bangs fall across his face. He looks as despondent as Hunk feels for a second. Then Keith looks worried, glancing over at Krolia out of the corner of his eye. Keith bites his lip as he takes in his mom’s blank expression as she stares at the screen, the hint of confusion as Tyrerra and Aoliok strike blades. Keith lets out a breath as he pulls away from her and the couch. “It’s kind of a goofy show – I mean – you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

  Krolia gives Keith a quick, reassuring smile, nodding as she walks over to Hunk’s left and slides onto the end of the couch. Krolia pats her hand against the seat between her and Hunk. Keith follows her gaze, looking unsure, like he doesn’t think she means him for a second. Krolia smiles at Hunk for a second, gaze as nervous as Keith’s before, she glances back at her son. “If you want to watch, I want to watch.”

  “Okay,” Keith mumbles as he comes around the side, giving her a smile that looks more like a grimace, entire body radiating nervous energy as he sits down. Hunk gives him a quick grin, trying to get some of that nervous energy out of the air as he starts telling Keith about what he’s missed. Keith nods every few seconds, some of the nervous energy going away, but not all of it as he glances over at his mom every few seconds. It’s almost like Keith expects Krolia to get mad at him or leave because he likes a soap opera or something.

  Which, given Keith’s history, Hunk guesses makes sense.  

* * *

  “Keith, I was just looking for you, I was wondering if I could talk to you about a matter of some importance,” Allura calls as she walks into the training room, cocking her head to the side as she catches his eye. She’s not surprised he’s returned to his favorite spot now that he’s back on the castle. Keith glances over at her, twisting around to slice his blade across the metal arm of the droid. Allura takes in his movements, the agility and speed, the ease that’s only seen to have doubled since he joined the Blade. It might not have done much for Keith’s self-esteem, but it has at least helped his skill with the blade.

  The robot lets out a small cry, slowly coming to a stop as Keith hits the center of the droid’s chest. It looks like Allura came at the right time, the training session must be over. Keith freezes mid -swing, blade turning back into a knife as he twists on his heel. Keith raises an eyebrow at her, frowning slightly as he stares over at her. “What’s up, Allura?”

  “I’m concerned about Shiro,” Allura tells him without pause, because she thinks it’s better to be direct, to, as Lance once said, ‘rip off the Band-Aid’. Allura still doesn’t know what that means, exactly, but she knows that it is better to be direct in cases like these and especially with Keith. Keith bites his lip, gaze growing tighter as he stares over at her, eyes heavy with a mixture of guilt and worry. “Going by your face, I would imagine that you have also noticed that he’s been acting … strangely as of late.”

  “The Kral Zera wasn’t his smartest moment, but he was taken by the Galra Empire twice, that would mess with anyone,” Keith points out in a low voice, though Allura can see the anxiety still flicking across his gaze as he tries to justify his friend’s actions to himself. Allura knows because she did the exact same thing a few weeks ago, has been doing it almost all of Shiro’s actions ever since. Keith has not been back long enough to see Shiro’s choices, his reactions to the rest of them, but she knows in time he will. It would be hard to miss, even for someone who adores Shiro as much as Keith.

  Allura nods quickly, trying to think of the right thing to say. Allura knows that, if needed – and she fears it will be much sooner rather than later – Keith must return to Voltron. Sometimes she doubts they ever should have let him leave. “I agree, but if it comes to it, I need to know that you would be willing to leave the Blade and return to Voltron. I know that you just found your mother, but -”

  “I don’t know if Black or Red would take me back, but of course I would,” Keith tells her in a tight voice, too many emotions in his gaze for her to even begin to unravel them. Then Keith’s gaze grows far away as he looks away from her and toward the pod in the back of the room, as though trying to find safety in the stardust. “Meeting my mother hasn’t changed anything.”

  “Right,” Allura says softly as she brushes a hand against his shoulder, only to stop at the last moment. She doesn’t know to process what he just said. Allura would give almost anything to have her father and mother back, to see them face to face one more time. But then, her parents also didn’t abandon her for her entire childhood, didn’t leave her to raise herself. Allura rests her hand on Keith’s shoulder this time, giving him a small smile before she turns to leave. She can’t blame Keith if he doesn’t want a relationship with a stranger.

* * *

  Keith is sitting in the common room with Allura, Hunk, and Lance as they watch a movie, something from earth that Keith’s still never seen. There’s a tension in the air now, Lance and Hunk glancing over at him every few seconds while Allura keeps tugging on her braid every so often. Keith finally looks over at them with a slight frown, scrunching his eyebrows together as he runs his hand over the sheath of his knife. “What?”

  “Hey Keith, are you doing okay?” Lance asks him as he raises an eyebrow, leaning in a bit and peering at him as though he can answer the question for himself if he stares at Keith long enough. Keith just shrugs, dropping his blade to the side so he can cross his arms against his chest. Keith has no idea where this is coming from, he’s been good since he got back from the Blade. He’s even been spending more time in the common room than he did before he left, and that’s a good thing. Right? “I couldn’t help but notice you’ve seemed a little nervous since you got back here, quiet, but in a different way than you usually are.”

  “What? I’m fine,” Keith insists, though his voice sounds weak even to his own ears. He has been nervous, but it’s got nothing to do with being on the Castle. Well, okay, that’s been weird too, being here but not part of the team, especially since Shiro has been … distant. But mostly it’s his mom, has been his mom since he first met her three weeks ago. He has no idea how to act around her.

  “Keith,” Hunk mutters with a low sigh, shaking his head as though he’s disappointed in him. Keith blinks owlishly, leaning over to peer at Hunk suspiciously because what’s that supposed to mean? Hunk looks up at him and smiles a little, gaze soft. “You know we’re your friends, right? You can tell us if something’s bothering you. You should, even.”

  “I – I don’t – I’m afraid of my mom,” Keith explains, the words coming out before he can stop them, even though they make him sound like an idiot. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, feeling the weight of the other three’s stares on him. When Keith opens his eyes, Allura’s gaze is tight, Lance is frowning, and Hunk’s eyebrows are scrunched together. Right, Keith’s making as much sense as he thought. Great. “I mean, I’m not, but that she won’t – I’m afraid once she gets to know me, she’ll leave again.”

  “Of course you are,” Lance says softly as he lays a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly as he meets his gaze. Keith lets out a small gasp of surprise, meeting his gaze with wide eyes. Keith expected a lot of things, but understanding wasn’t one of them. after all, he’s the one who’s been desperate to know about his past and who’s now pushing away his best chance at learning about it. At having family. But Hunk nods along with Lance’s words, giving him the same warm grin, he did when they were watching their show, while Allura’s keeping her gaze carefully impassive. “You went 18 years without knowing why she left in the first place, and now suddenly she’s in your life. That would freak anyone out.”

  “I – thanks, Lance,” Keith whispers softly, gaze dropping to his hands for a moment as he plays with edge of his gloves. He needs a second to collect his thoughts, to get that his friends aren’t rejecting him for pushing away yet another person. They’re still there for him, still trying to make sure he’s okay. Keith looks up at them, smile small and bright, because maybe he has a family, no matter what happens with his mom. And maybe he didn’t push them away after all.

  “Which means that you need to speak with her and share your fears. That’s the only way in which you’ll feel better,” Allura tells him in a firm voice, sitting up a bit straighter as she looks over at him considering. Keith meets her gaze with a slight glare of his own, biting his lip when she doesn’t look away. Keith guesses she’s figured out when his glares are angry and when they’re scared. That’s doing better than Keith has. “And no matter what happens, you always have your family here, Keith.”

  “I – okay,” Keith agrees with her after a minute, biting his lip as he runs his hands over the sheath of his knife again. Then he looks up at the other three, taking in their supportive smiles and nervous expressions and does something he never has before. Keith throws his arms around them nervously, hands brushing across Lance and Hunk’s shoulders and just around Allura. It takes the others a moment, but then they all lean in too. It’s the first hug Keith’s ever initiated, and he has to admit it’s pretty nice.

*****

  “Mom!” Keith shouts just a little too loud when he spots her across the sitting room, wincing as he hears the volume of his own voice. Okay, so group hug or no, he might still be a little nervous. Confrontation is only Keith’s thing when it’s in a battle. Otherwise he’d rather run away. But if he keeps running, he’ll never get answers, he’ll never have any chance of getting to know his mom or her getting to know him. and Keith wants that. “I was wondering if I could talk to you.”

  “Of course, any time, Keith,” Krolia tells him with a tight smile, and now that he’s looking through clearer eyes, Keith can see the nervousness in her gaze too. Maybe he’s not the only one who’s worried here. That makes Keith feel a little better. Keith takes a few steps toward the couch and carefully sits on the edge of the cushion, one hand brushing against the hilt of his blade.

  “I know I’ve been distant, or aloof or – the point is I know it probably made you feel bad,” Keith rambles before he can stop himself, wringing his hands as he stares down at the floor. Krolia nods with a carefully neutral expression, though there’s a softness to her gaze that he’s rarely seen directed at him. Keith swallows a little, inching closer to her on the couch as a strange sort of confidence swells in his chest. Maybe this time – maybe, Keith has to try. “I’m not mad at you, I get why you had to leave, when I was a kid. But I guess I’m … scared. That you’ll leave again, because of me -”

  “Keith! I didn’t leave because of you, I never would,” Krolia says softly, tiredly, as she brushes her hand over his shoulder. Keith stiffens for a moment but relaxes as quickly as he can so she won’t pull away. Krolia doesn’t seem like she’s going to though, gaze filled with a sorrow Keith doesn’t understand, though it reminds him a bit of the times when Shiro disappeared. “I left because I thought that was the best way to keep you safe. Now I know I was wrong, but … I want to be part of your life if you want me to be.”

  “Of course I do,” Keith says in a small voice, gazing up at her as something a lot like hope stirs in his stomach. He’s wanted that since he was a little kid. Keith might not need Krolia the same way he would’ve stayed or if she’d come back earlier, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be something to each other. Keith’s an adult, but just, and that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need a mentor or a friend. Maybe Krolia can be that for him, maybe that’s what he needs from a mom now.

  “I’m glad, Keith, any chance you want to spar for a bit?” Krolia asks as she leans toward him with a small, knowing grin. There’s still a nervousness to her gaze, an uncertainty that Keith figures they’ll both be feeling for a while. This is all still brand new for both of them. but maybe that just means they’ll figure this out together.

  “Yeah, thanks, _mom_ ,” Keith answers her as he rolls to his feet, a smile on his face to match her own. Sparring together feels right. Keith’s seen her skill with the Blade, and he knows he could learn a thing or two from her about sword fighting. Though Keith thinks he could teach her a bit about dodging.

  And now? Keith and Krolia have all the time in the world to teach each other those things. Neither of them is going anywhere.


	4. Generations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's my theory/head canon: Kolivan is actually Keith's uncle/grandfather. it would make sense with the level of protectiveness he shows Keith, and now with Krolia in the mix it could cause even more family drama.

Keith and Krolia take two days to get back to the base, and Keith does his best to try and get to know his mom without fighting with her or avoiding her like he normally does when things get too emotionally difficult. The latter isn’t really possible since they’re on a ship. The former is harder, and Keith knows he’s being distant or as distant as he can be on a ship, conversations short and stilted. Still, his mom is here and Keith is well, a part of him is excited and hopeful, not able to keep from asking her about how she got to earth or what he was like as a toddler. It’s almost nice, until they get to the base and the reality of how mad Kolivan is going to be sets in. that makes for an awkward walk from the hangar.

  “I see that you chose to disrupt the mission, again,” Kolivan states coldly as they walk into the room, not mentioning the time it took for them to get back. Keith starts to cross his arms defensively when he realizes Kolivan isn’t looking at him. He’s looking at Krolia. Krolia does cross her arms against her chest, glaring over at Kolivan with a look of disbelief. Keith guesses her 15 years undercover have made her forget what their leader is like. Kolivan stares back at her with a look of exasperation, though if Keith didn’t know better, he’d almost think it was fond. “You’re lucky that the weapon was able to be turned against the base.”

  “You’re mad at me,” Krolia says with a low sigh, crossing her arms against her chest as she stares their leader in the eye without even flinching. Keith has to admit he’s impressed. Keith can only do that when he’s already upset about something. “You know that both times I went against orders, it was only to protect Keith.”

  “You’re not allowed to place any individual above the mission, Krolia. No matter how much personal value they might have to you,” Kolivan reminds her in a tight voice, hands balled into fists for a second before he releases them just as quickly. Keith blinks owlishly, because for a second Kolivan reminded him of someone, though he can’t place who. Kolivan catches his stare and quickly turns his gaze away from Keith and toward Krolia again. Krolia gives him a look of disbelief, shaking her head rapidly back and forth as she stares at him.

  “Really? That’s the argument you’re going to make? I seem to remember you bending a few rules,” Krolia points out as she takes a step forward, voice rising slightly. Keith blinks owlishly, because he can’t imagine Kolivan breaking rules for anyone. It’s not really his style. Krolia raises an eyebrow, voice like steel when she speaks. “Do you regret it?”

  “I don’t dwell on the past, we both know that,” Kolivan tells her stiffly, though there’s a slight twitch in his eyebrows. Keith cocks his head to the left, taking a few steps toward them. Kolivan glares tightly over at Krolia, but Keith can’t help but notice the nervous look that Kolivan shoots his way. Since when does Kolivan get nervous because of him? Usually Kolivan either gets annoyed or he’s indifferent. At best he treats Keith like he’s some kind of unruly teenager and Keith feels like he’s back at the Garrison except with no Shiro to have his back (Regris did for a bit).

  “What’s going on?” Keith snaps as he glances between the two of them, because he’s sick of being out of the loop. Krolia raises a hand in the air and then pauses mid hand motion, glancing over at Kolivan with a look of disbelief.

  “You haven’t told him?” Krolia cries as she throws her arms out, eyes widening slightly even as she keeps glaring. Keith cocks his head to the side, taking a step back because he’s not sure he should be part of this argument. Keith has no idea what Kolivan hasn’t told him, but he’s sure that he has good reason … except, actually, no he’s not. Between Shiro not telling them about the Kral Zera and no one outside of _Lotor_ of all people keeping the Blade updated on anything with Voltron, Keith’s not sure what to think anymore. After all, Kolivan also sent him on this mission without mentioning that Krolia was his mother, and Keith feels like that information was pretty damn necessary.

  “It wasn’t relevant to the mission at hand, and I feared it could become a distraction,” Kolivan tells her in a tight voice, shaking his head quickly. His braid flings through the air, almost like a whip. Krolia’s gaze narrows as she takes a few steps toward Kolivan, almost shaking as she lets out a sound that’s half laugh, half growl. Keith doesn’t know what he got himself into here, but he knows he regrets it.

  Krolia takes a few steps forward, jabbing a finger out and poking Kolivan square in the chest. She makes the same strangled sound as Kolivan stares back at her without flinching, though Keith notices his eyebrow is twitching again. This seems bad. Keith wonders how bad it is, if Kolivan thought it would keep him from being able to complete his missions. Krolia’s glare only grows hotter as she practically circles Kolivan, lips twisting in a way that almost looks like a snarl. “For him or for you?”

  “Both,” Kolivan mutters without any reprimand, without doing so much as moving Krolia’s hand away. What the hell is going on? Kolivan would never let any of the other blades talk to him like that. What makes Krolia so special? What did he keep from Keith that’s so important it’d make Kolivan let Krolia act like this? Except – wait. Kolivan said _both_. That doesn’t make any sense, why would something be distracting for both of them?

  “Seriously, what are the two of you talking about?” Keith shouts as he stomps over to stand by his mom’s side, gaze flicking between the two of them hurriedly. Krolia glances over at him for a second, gaze softening before it hardens again as she turns toward Kolivan. Keith lets out a frustrated huff as he shoots them both a heated glare, because none of this is helping him get _what_ they’re fighting about, because it sure doesn’t seem to be the mission they just screwed up.

  “Keith, I’d like you to meet your grandfather, Kolivan,” Krolia tells him as she gives the older man a hard look. Keith stares at her, waiting for a name or for another Blade to walk in or – except wait. Does she mean Kolivan is related to him? That makes no sense!

  “Grandfather? How the hell could Kolivan be my grandfather?” Keith cries as he throws his hands out this time, glancing between them again with wide eyes. Krolia meets his gaze and gives him a small smile, though she’s still glaring at Kolivan out of the corner of her eye. Kolivan’s expression is stoic as always, but Keith sees a nervousness in his gaze, a sheepishness, that doesn’t make sense unless he actually is Keith’s grandfather. “That would mean that he was your father!”

  “Yes, Keith, he is,” Krolia says as though it should be obvious, glancing over at Kolivan with a hint of amusement. Kolivan glances away from both of them and toward the computer screen, even though there’s no activity on the map right now. Krolia rolls her eyes playfully, leaning in and giving Keith a conspiratorial smile. “And despite his claims, he bent the rules for me more than once. The biggest time being for you.”

  “Wait, none of that makes any sense! If Kolivan was my grandfather, why would he have almost let me die?” Keith asks, cocking his head to the side as he glances between Kolivan and Krolia. Kolivan turns from the computer monitor to stare at him, looking shocked as though he doesn’t remember that happening.

  “What is he talking about, dad?” Krolia shouts as she turns her eyes away from him and back to Kolivan, gaze blistering in a way Keith’s not sure he’s ever managed. Keith frowns tightly as he takes a step back from them, not wanting to get in the middle of this. He’s not trying to cause a fight – Keith doesn’t care that Kolivan left him to die. Really. He survived and he knows that the mission has to come before the individual. But Krolia seems furious, shaking as she glares her father down. “What did you do?”

  “I didn’t leave him to die, I simply chose to let him learn how to find the ship when his suit was damaged,” Kolivan assures her, voice taking on a tone Keith’s never heard before. There’s something amused and almost tender to it as Kolivan reaches a hand out and lays it on Krolia’s shoulder and squeezes, just like she’s done for Keith in the past few days. Krolia raises an eyebrow, some of her anger replaced with curiosity.  “Had he not done so for more ticks than was safe, I would have rescued him.”

  “What are you talking about? I had a hole in my suit, I could’ve died right away, and I was still a paladin then!” Keith snaps as he moves to stand between them, anger surging through him even though he’s not sure why. Keith just knows that he’s sick of being out of the loop, and this is a pretty big loop.

  “The suits have a built-in safety mechanism for tears when you’re in space, one I have long had memorized. I knew that you still had 60 ticks left when you entered the ship,” Kolivan explains to him in the same tone as before, gaze warmer than it was a second ago. Keith blinks owlishly, crossing his arms again as he turns his gaze away from Kolivan and Krolia and toward the wall. He needs to figure out what he’s feeling and what it means. Hell, Keith needs to figure out what anything means. “Did you truly think I intended to abandon you mere minutes after I saved you from dying alongside Regris?”

  “I guess, I didn’t, I didn’t think it was because we were related,” Keith mumbles softly, some of the fight going out of him as the confusion wins out. Mostly Keith just feels overwhelmed, too many changes and revelations all at once hitting him. He hasn’t even processed that Krolia is his mother yet, alone that Kolivan is his grandfather or that he’s apparently gotten special treatment in the Blade or whatever. It’s all too much.

  “Of course not, why would you?” Krolia says as she lays a hand on his shoulder, giving a smile that’s almost gentle as she squeezes his shoulder. Keith gives her a weak smile in return, still trying to figure out how he should feel or what he should say or do, if anything. Keith takes a deep breath, gaze flicking between the two of them as they share a look Keith can’t discern. But then Krolia nods, turning her gaze back to Keith with the same tight smile from before. “Keith, the three of us, we need to talk, both about your future here with the Blade and ours as a family. If you want us as a family.”

  “I … I want to get to know both of you better, at least,” Keith tells them with a small nod, biting his lip as he glances up at his mother. Keith doesn’t know a lot right now, but he knows he doesn’t want to miss out on the chance to finally learn more about where he came from or his family. Maybe it won’t end up changing anything and he’ll be back where he started, just with a little more information.

  But that’s still more than he had before. And maybe Keith will get even more than that. “Maybe we could have breakfast together tomorrow?”

  “I’d be amenable to that,” Kolivan mutters as he nods at both of them, gaze still holding the same warmth as before. Keith wonders if that will just be the norm from now on, if Kolivan was just hiding his grandfatherly affection for the sake of the mission. Or maybe it’s all for Krolia. Keith guesses he’ll find out soon. Krolia starts walking toward the door, and Keith follows her at first only to pause at the door. Keith bites his lip, glancing between them as the implication of Kolivan’s story here and Krolia’s actions a few days ago hit him. Both of them put him before the mission. They can’t do that again.

  “Wait, what you said earlier, about comprising the mission? I shouldn’t be something you’re willing to compromise the mission over. Not again,” Keith says as he looks between the two of them, trying to keep his gaze hard instead of the hopeful he’s feeling deep down. A selfish part of him wants Krolia and Kolivan to think of him that way, but he knows that’s too dangerous. The Blade puts the mission above the individual for a reason, and Keith can’t be above that if they really want to win this war.

  Kolivan walks over to him, reaching a hand out and lying it on Keith’s shoulder. Kolivan reaches out his free hand and lies it on Krolia’s arm as he turns his gaze to her for a second. “Keith, for your mother and I, you always be. Nothing will change that.”

  Keith smiles weakly at both of them, still not sure if that thought makes him happy or angry or what, but he has the feeling things are never going to be quite the same. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to leave me prompts! And while this started off a bit angsty, please feel free to request fluff or hurt/comfort or etc! I really enjoy writing that as well!


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